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Biomedical subjects

A Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to A Watanabe.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

[The usefulness of MRCP in the initial diagnosis of the biliary and pancreatic diseases compared with ERCP].

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness and the limitation of the MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in the initial diagnosis for the biliary and pancreatic diseases compared with the image of Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). MRCP showed higher performance toward the discovery of the choledocholithiasis of a diameter 4 mm and more. Furthermore, MRCP reflected a malignant tumor at the constrictive part and the dilated proximal part of the biliary and pancreatic duct in 23 example all. An advantage of ERCP was the ability to carry out biopsies and therapeutic procedures, such as biliary drainage and sphincterotomy, while MRCP was an important diagnostic modality in the work-up of the biliary and pancreatic diseases and could help in planning treatment. MRCP would become the examination method first used, and it would be popularized all the more from now on.

Bile Duct Neoplasms↗
PubMed1998

[Studies of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma--treatment results with the CCLSG NHL 960 protocol. Children's Cancer and Leukemia Study Group (CCLSG)].

We report here on the preliminary treatment findings of a CCLSG NHL 960 study that was initiated in March 1996. In this study, 37 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were assigned to 4 different treatment groups according to disease stage and histology: (1) localized disease; (2) advanced disease, lymphoblastic type; (3) advanced disease, large cell type; and (4) advanced disease, Burkitt type. The first three groups received the modified protocols of the NHL 890 study. Groups 1 and 3 received COPADM induction therapy (CPM, VCR, PRD, ADR, and MTX). After achieving remission, Group 1 received only maintenance therapy consisting of alternate administration of 7 drugs, while Group 3 received additional intensification therapy with combination chemotherapy consisting of MTX and Ara-C, followed by a maintenance phase involving the administration of 9 drugs. Group 2 received COPADL induction therapy (CPM, VCR, PRD, ADR, and LASP) and consolidation/intensification therapies followed by a maintenance phase. Group 4 received short-term intensive COPADM polychemotherapy. Twelve patients with localized with localized disease (stage I-II) and 25 patients with advanced disease (stage III-IV) were enrolled in this study. Except for 2 patients in the advanced disease stages who died earlier in the course of the study, all patients remained in remission.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

[History of society for family group activity for patients receiving home visiting care].

We organized a society for the support of patients receiving home visiting care and their families in 1982. The group started with 13 members and now has more than fifty members. Some members a remain after the patients' death and give advice as alumni. The group was named "Kibo-no-kai" i.e., "hope". At first, the group was a place to complain about daily care and cheer one another up. But gradually, the demands for better welfare were occurred to the members, and we have made requests to the mayor. Since 1984 we had a talk with the mayor four times and obtained some improvements in welfare; for example, bath service for patients undergoing gastrostomy or tracheostomy, supply of paper diapers, simplification of welfare service procedures and so on. We meet 4 times a year, publish bulletins, and meet in small groups in each area occasionally. This paper reported the history of this group for 15 years.

Family↗
PubMed1998

Transplantation with peripheral blood stem cells, manipulated or unmanipulated, for the treatment of high-risk childhood leukemia.

Collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) does not require anesthesia or multiple marrow aspirations, and hence, is far less invasive than bone marrow collection. Most importantly, PBSC can be collected from the body's entire pool of HSC to provide more stem cells than marrow aspiration performed at localized iliac bones. This leads to the faster recovery of hematopoiesis after PBSC transplantation (PBSCT) than after bone marrow transplantation and makes 'cell component therapy' far more effective with PBSC. This review will present our pediatric experience of transplants with PBSC, purified or unmanipulated.

Child↗
PubMed1997

Characterization of density-dependent regulation of the tyrosinase gene promoter: role of protein kinase C.

The rate-limiting step in melanogenesis is catalyzed by tyrosinase, a multifunctional enzyme encoded by the albino locus. We have previously reported that depletion of protein kinase C by long-term treatment of B16 mouse melanoma cells with phorbol dibutyrate (PDBu) prevented cell density-dependent melanogenesis. This was accompanied by a lack of induction of tyrosinase protein and mRNA. We report here the effect of PDBu on the functional activity of the mouse tyrosinase promoter by reporter gene assay and its effect on the binding of nuclear proteins from B16 cells to the "M-box" region of the mouse tyrosinase promoter. Short-term PDBu treatment of B16 cells transfected with a mouse tyrosinase promoter-luciferase construct resulted in increased reporter gene activity, while long-term PDBu treatment inhibited reporter gene activity. Using an oligonucleotide containing the M-box and its flanking residues in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we found a density-dependent change in the pattern of DNA-protein complexes. One complex was found to be negatively regulated by long-term PDBu treatment. Competition experiments with various mutated oligonucleotides demonstrated that both the M-box and flanking residues are important for nuclear protein binding. The complex whose formation was inhibited by long-term PDBu treatment was shown to contain the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper protein microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). These results suggest that chronic PDBu treatment might inhibit tyrosinase expression (and subsequent melanogenesis) by affecting the amount or function of MITF.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Distributions of fibroblast growth factor and the mRNA for its receptor, MFR1, in the developing testis of the medaka, Oryzias latipes.

The distribution of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and of the mRNA for its receptor encoded by MFR1 were examined in the testis of the medaka, Oryzias latipes. FGF was detected in the region of somatic cells, especially in Sertoli cells in the matured testis by immunostaining. The staining was also detected in some of the type A spermatogonia. The distribution of FGF in the testis of the fry, in which spermatogenesis had not been initiated, was different from that in the adult. Signals of mRNA were observed in the same region as FGF in the matured testis. Staining was also detected in the testis of the fry in which spermatogenesis had been initiated. Therefore, the role of FGF in the testis of the fry in the early developmental stages may be different from that of the adult: These results indicate that FGF regulates the activation of somatic cells in the testis through the MFR1 receptor, and that it might play a significant role in the initiation and the progression of spermatogenesis in the testis of O. latipes.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Regulation of sulfur assimilation in higher plants: a sulfate transporter induced in sulfate-starved roots plays a central role in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Proton/sulfate cotransporters in the plasma membranes are responsible for uptake of the environmental sulfate used in the sulfate assimilation pathway in plants. Here we report the cloning and characterization of an Arabidopsis thaliana gene, AST68, a new member of the sulfate transporter gene family in higher plants. Sequence analysis of cDNA and genomic clones of AST68 revealed that the AST68 gene is composed of 10 exons encoding a 677-aa polypeptide (74.1 kDa) that is able to functionally complement a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant lacking a sulfate transporter gene. Southern hybridization and restriction fragment length polymorphism mapping confirmed that AST68 is a single-copy gene that maps to the top arm of chromosome 5. Northern hybridization analysis of sulfate-starved plants indicated that the steady-state mRNA abundance of AST68 increased specifically in roots up to 9-fold by sulfate starvation. In situ hybridization experiments revealed that AST68 transcripts were accumulated in the central cylinder of sulfate-starved roots, but not in the xylem, endodermis, cortex, and epidermis. Among all the structural genes for sulfate assimilation, sulfate transporter (AST68), APS reductase (APR1), and serine acetyltransferase (SAT1) were inducible by sulfate starvation in A. thaliana. The sulfate transporter (AST68) exhibited the most intensive and specific response in roots, indicating that AST68 plays a central role in the regulation of sulfate assimilation in plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

The involvement of calmodulin and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in the circadian rhythms controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

We investigated the involvement of calmodulin and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in the photic entrainment of circadian rhythms using calmodulin inhibitors such as calmidazolium (CMZ) and trifluoperazine (TFP), and a CaMKII inhibitor, KN-62, in rats. Fos expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of rats induced by photic stimulation (300 lux, 1 h) during the early subjective night of the rats was inhibited by treatment with CMZ (10 mg/kg i.p.) or TFP (20 mg/kg i.p.) 30 min before photic stimulation. With respect to the neuronal firing rate in the rat SCN slice, KN-62 and CMZ application during the early subjective night attenuated the glutamate (10 microM)-induced phase shift. The present results suggest that calmodulin and CaMKII are involved in the photic entrainment mechanism in the rodent SCN.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗
PubMed1997

Cloning, sequencing, and expression of Arthrobacter protophormiae endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase in Escherichia coli.

The gene encoding endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase from Arthrobacter protophormiae (Endo-A) was cloned, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. A single open reading frame consisting of 1935 base pairs and encoding a polypeptide composed of signal peptides of 24 amino acids and a mature protein of 621 amino acids was found. The primary structure of Endo-A exhibited significant homology with FO1F.10 gene product from Caenorhabditis elegans and weak homology with peptide-N4-(N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminyl)asparagine amidase from Flavobacterium meningosepticum and chitinase from Streptomyces olivaceoviridis. However, the enzyme had no significant homology with any previously reported endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidases. Transformed Escherichia coli cells carrying the 4.5-kb fragment expressed Endo-A activity. This enzyme activity was detected in the medium as well as in the periplasmic space of cells under the control of the Endo-A gene promoter. The recombinant Endo-A was efficiently isolated from the periplasmic space of the cells. N-terminal sequence analysis revealed that native and recombinant Endo-A have the same N-terminus. Recombinant and native Endo-A also showed very similar optimum pH profiles and transglycosylation activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Examination of hydroxyapatite filled 4-META/MMA-TBB adhesive bone cement in vitro and in vivo environment.

Bone response to hydroxyapatite (HA) fillers in the cured-4-methacryloyloxye-thyl trimellitate anhydride (4-META)/methyl methacrylate (MMA)-tri-n-butyl borane (TBB) adhesive bone cement was examined mechanically and histologically. A two-component system, consisting of powder and liquid, was formulated. The liquid portion was 5% 4-META dissolved in MMA and TBB; the powder was composed of 50 wt% poly (MMA) (PMMA) and 50 wt% dense HA fillers. The results indicated that the tensile strength decreased with the increase of HA filler size. The bone-bonding behavior of the improved cement was examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Seventy-two implants in six dogs for up to 24 weeks showed 4-META cement filled with HA was stable in the cement-bone interface. Histologic examinations showed that the exposed HA particles at the surface of the cured cement were generally associated with intimate attachment to bone without fibrous tissue, as well as interdigitation of cement to bone. The results suggest the importance of HA fillers in inducing bone apposition that improves cement binding to bone for long-term stability, thereby complementing rapid initial bone fixation of the cement.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Dual expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and membrane-type 1-matrix metalloproteinase in fibrotic human livers.

We have previously reported increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) using a rat model of liver fibrosis. However we did not clarify how the precursor of MMP-2 (proMMP-2) was activated. Therefore, we used human liver specimens with chronic hepatitis (CH) and liver cirrhosis (LC) to examine expression of membrane-type-1-MMP (MT1-MMP), which has recently been determined to activate proMMP-2. Northern hybridization studies showed a 5.4- and 1.4-fold increase in MMP-2 expression in CH and LC, respectively, as compared with normal liver. MT1-MMP gene expression simultaneously increased 4.0- and 1.4-fold in CH and LC, respectively. In situ hybridization using 35S-cRNA probes of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP showed prominent silver granules in elongated cells found in the lobules, periportal areas, and fibrous septa of CH and LC samples. These elongated cells expressed alpha-smooth muscle actin by immunohistochemistry. Immunoelectron microscopic examination localized MMP-2 and MT1-MMP to the rough endoplasmic reticulum of stellate cells located in the lobules and periportal areas, or to fibroblasts in the fibrous septa, suggesting that MMP-2 and MT1-MMP were produced by these cells. In addition, cytoplasmic and membranous immunodeposits of both MMPs were found in endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, capillary endothelial cells, and lymphocytes, indicating that activation of proMMP-2 occurs locally. Increased expression of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP was detected in CH and LC, while dual over-expression was found in stellate cells and fibroblasts, possibly resulting in the increase of active MMP-2 in and around these cells. These findings suggest that activated MMP-2 may remodel liver parenchyma during the process of liver fibrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Combination effects of cisplatin, vinorelbine and irinotecan in non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines in vitro.

PURPOSE: Isobologram analysis has been widely used for evaluating the combined effect of two antitumor drugs in vitro as a pre-clinical screening test. In this study, we tried to extend two-dimensional isobologram analysis to three dimensions for evaluating the effects of a three-drug combination. METHODS: We selected three anticancer agents, cisplatin, vinorelbine and irinotecan. Each of them has been classified as having good single-agent activity against non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Human NSCLC cell lines (EBC-1, PC-3, RERF-LC-MS) were incubated for 4 days in the presence of the three drugs and cytotoxic activities were determined by a tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay (MTT assay). The data were analyzed by three dimensional isobologram analysis. RESULTS: The effects of the three drugs were additive against EBC-1 (a squamous cell carcinoma cell line), subadditive against PC-3 (an adenocarcinoma cell line) and from subadditive to supraadditive against RERF-LC-MS (an adenocarcinoma cell line). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the effects of cisplatin, vinorelbine and irinotecan in combination are additive against NSCLC in vitro. These results encourage clinical trials of the three agents in combination chemotherapy for the treatment of NSCLC.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1997

Preventing symblepharon formation with a gelatin sponge in the eye of a patient with an alkali burn.

PURPOSE: To report a patient with symblepharon caused by an alkali injury whom we treated by using a gelatin sponge. METHODS: Four days after the burn, a gelatin sponge was inserted into the upper conjunctival sac to separate the raw conjunctival surfaces. RESULTS: The gelatin sponge adhered to the tarsal side of the upper fornix and was kept there for 11 days until no epithelial defect was visible in the bulbar conjunctiva. No symblepharon formation was observed 6 months after the injury. CONCLUSION: Application of a gelatin sponge proved to be a simple and effective way of preventing symblepharon formation after an alkali burn.

Alkalies↗
PubMed1997

Music alexia in a patient with mild pure alexia: disturbed visual perception of nonverbal meaningful figures.

A 26-year-old female pianist suffered from an intracerebral hematoma caused by an arteriovenous malformation of the left occipital parasplenial region, which was operated on seven months after the onset. Incomplete right hemianopsia, mild pure alexia, and partially disturbed naming of visual objects persisted several months after the removal of the malformation. Evaluation of musical ability one and three months after surgery showed that her auditory recognition of music was intact. She could sing and play melodies already learned and could dictate well the notes after hearing tones. However, she had difficulty in reading music, especially the pitch of notes, even for simple sequences of 4 notes. In contrast, her rhythm reading was fairly good. Her visual recognition of other symbolic figures like road signs was also markedly impaired. These results suggest that her visual recognition of written music as well as of other symbolic figures underwent a preliminary verbal decoding in the left hemisphere and that pitch reading was more dependent on verbal processing than rhythm reading.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Influence of oxygen in inflation gas during lung ischemia on ischemia-reperfusion injury.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have reported that hyperinflation during lung ischemia improves pulmonary function after reperfusion. However, it has not been clarified whether hyperinflation itself or oxygen in inflation gas causes good pulmonary function. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of oxygen in pulmonary inflation gas during lung ischemia on ischemia-reperfusion injury. METHODS: Twenty-one mongrel dogs were randomly divided into three groups: the lung during a 90-minute period of warm ischemia was inflated to 30 cm H2O with 100% oxygen in group A and 100% nitrogen in group B; it was not inflated in group C. Pulmonary function and hemodynamics were measured before ischemia and 1, 2, and 3 hours after reperfusion. Total protein and phosphorus of phospholipid in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were measured 210 minutes after reperfusion. Adenine nucleotide levels in lung tissue were estimated 210 minutes after reperfusion. RESULTS: No significant differences in pulmonary function and hemodynamics were noted between group A and group B, but these two groups had significantly better pulmonary function and hemodynamics than group C. No significant differences were detected in the concentrations of total protein and phosphorus of phospholipids in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and in adenine nucleotide levels of lung tissue after reperfusion among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that pulmonary inflation during warm ischemia improves pulmonary function and hemodynamics after reperfusion in this model. The effect is caused by inflation itself and is not due to oxygen as a metabolic substrate during warm ischemia.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1997

Analysis of T-cell receptor Vbeta repertoire in liver-infiltrating lymphocytes in chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To examine the T-cell repertoire which is involved in the immunopathogenesis of chronic hepatitis, we analyzed the T-cell receptor Vbeta gene usage in liver-infiltrating lymphocytes by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical technique. METHODS: Complementary DNA was synthesized from RNA which was extracted from 26 liver biopsy specimens and from peripheral blood lymphocytes from eight subjects, and amplified by RT-PCR. Radioactivity of each amplified product using 32P-labeled primers was measured and the percentage of each Vbeta expression was calculated. RESULTS: The mean frequency of Vbeta5.1 (11.1%) in liver-infiltrating lymphocytes of chronic hepatitis C was highest among those of all Vbeta regions, and was significantly higher than that in both peripheral blood lymphocytes of chronic hepatitis C and liver-infiltrating lymphocytes of chronic hepatitis B. In the immunohistochemical analysis, Vbeta5.1-positive cells were mostly observed in portal areas where inflammatory reactions occurred. The sequences of the complementarity determining region (CDR)3 on T-cell receptor expressing Vbeta5.1 were examined in six patients with chronic hepatitis C. The sequences were similar to each other and all had one common amino acid (valine) irrespective of different HLA haplotype. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that Vbeta5.1-positive cells are preferentially accumulated in the liver of chronic hepatitis C and are involved in the immunopathogenesis of the disease. Sequence analysis showed that Vbeta5.1-positive cells recognize a common conventional antigen and valine recognized at the same position of the CDR3 may be a key residue in determining an antigen/major histocompatibility complex contact point.

Adult↗